Drilling rig placed on the sea bed and equipped for drilling of oil and gas wells

ABSTRACT

A drilling placed on the seabed and arranged for drilling of oil and gas wells is remote controlled from a light drilling vessel ( 2 ) through pipes and signal cables ( 3 ). The main structure of the drilling rig is made up of two cylindrical structures ( 1  and  10 ), in connection with which there is provided a number of cylindrical silos ( 8 ) for storing drill pipe magazines ( 23 ). A complete drilling module ( 17 ) can be lowered and retrieved through hatchways ( 11 ) at the top of the first cylindrical structure  10  The drilling rig is anchored to a foundation frame ( 7 ) by hydraulic legs ( 9 ). A cylindrical skirt ( 34 ) encloses the BOP ( 33 ) to prevent pollution of the environment

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/734,599, filed Apr. 12, 2007, which was a continuation ofPCT/NO2006/000234, filed Jun. 21, 2006, the entirety of which areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention regards a drilling rig of the type used for drilling oiland gas wells. More particularly, it regards a drilling rig placed onthe seabed and arranged for drilling of oil and gas wells, the drillingrig being equipped with a drilling module and at least one drill pipemagazine. A watertight cylindrical main structure comprising concentriccylindrical structures is provided with a plurality of silos for storingdrill pipes, the upper portions of the cylindrical structures and thesilos being provided with corresponding sealing hatchways for passingequipment in and out.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Oil and gas deposits in the earth's crust are exploited by drilling ahole down to the deposit to allow oil and gas to drain to the surface.

The equipment used for drilling holes in the ground consists chiefly ofa drilling derrick designed as a trussed steel structure. In the derrickthere is hoisting machinery with a wire for hoisting and lowering drillpipes. There is also various equipment for handling the drill pipes andrunning casings into the borehole.

Oil and gas deposits in deep waters are exploited by using floating orfixed platforms equipped with drilling equipment. These platforms end upas large and costly structures because the drilling equipment is bulkyand heavy. Besides the actual drilling equipment, there must also beprovided a riser connection between the platform and the seabed in orderto circulate drilling mud during drilling. Floating platforms must alsobe provided with heave compensators to accommodate the wave motion ofthe platform relative to tho seabed. Often, the drilling operations mustbe interrupted during extreme weather conditions, which involvehazardous operations and high costs. operations that must be carried outunder difficult weather conditions and high wave loading also involvesgreat risks.

A common drawback of known methods of drilling at great ocean depths isthe fact that they require the use of expensive floating platforms athigh daily rates.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These problems form the basis of the present invention, the generalobject of which has been to provide a drilling rig, which can be placedon the seabed to perform drilling operations without the use of floatingdrilling platforms.

An alternative to drilling from floating drilling platforms is to placethe drilling rig directly on the seabed, thus eliminating the need forlarge and expensive platforms.

Today's oil industry has developed a great deal of advanced equipmentfor remote controlled subsea operations. This technology is availableand can be used in a remote controlled operation where the drillingequipment is placed directly on the seabed.

Having the drilling rig located on the seabed will reduce the surfacevessel requirements, making it possible to use a smaller ship with alimited lifting capacity.

Thus WO 2004/018826 describes a drilling rig arranged on the seabed,where pipe cartridges are supplied to the drilling rig from a surfacevessel. The device of the WO publication consists of an open structurethat makes it difficult to change out any other equipment than the pipecartridges.

The object of the invention is to remedy or reduce at least one of thedrawbacks of prior art.

The object is achieved in accordance with the invention, by the featuresgiven in the description below and in the following claims.

A drilling rig placed on the seabed and arranged to drill oil and gaswells is, in accordance with the invention, provided with a drillingmodule and at least one drill pipe magazine, and is characterized by awatertight cylindrical main structure comprising concentric cylindricalstructures, and which is provided with a plurality of silos for storingdrill pipes, the upper portions of the cylindrical structures and thesilos being provided with corresponding scaling hatchways for passingequipment in and out.

The drilling module is designed as a separate module with, among otherthings, a drilling machine and drill pipe handling equipment arrangedcentrally within the cylindrical main structure. The drilling module canbe passed into the main structure through transfer openings in the top.The drilling module comprises a main structure provided with hoistingcylinders, and also a drilling machine and a pipe-handling robotequipped with hoisting and gripping devices. The drilling module can bedisplaced through the hatchway associated with a first cylindricalstructure.

Drill pipes are also passed in through hatches in the upper portions ofthe silos, while other equipment is passed in through openings in asecond cylindrical structure.

A blowout preventer (BOP) is arranged on a foundation frame on theseabed. The lower part of the drilling rig is provided with acylindrical skirt arranged to engage a corresponding cylindricalstructure on the foundation frame, thereby encapsulating the BOP.

The drilling rig is anchored to the seabed through the pre-loweredfoundation frame or directly to the seabed, e.g. by means of suctionanchors. A plurality of hydraulic legs on the drilling rig anchors thedrilling rig to the foundation frame located on the seabed.

Between the ship and the drilling rig there are flexible cables andhoses provided for control and monitoring of the drilling rigoperations. As mentioned, the entire rig is encased, preventingdischarges to the surrounding environment. Drill pipes and otherequipment are transported down to modules and passed into the drill rigthrough hatchways.

The operation of the drilling rig functions is carried out by remotecontrol and through the use of known remote operated vehicles, so-calledROVs.

Advantageously the drilling rig is provided with buoyant elements tofacilitate the submersion operation during the seabed installationprocedure.

Moreover, the drilling rig is arranged to carry out maintenanceoperations on wells and any work required in connection with plugging ofwells to be abandoned.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following describes a non-limiting example of a preferred embodimentillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a drilling rig placed on the seabed, connected to a surfacevessel by flexible cables and hoses;

FIG. 2 shows the drilling module ready to be passed into the mainstructure through hatchways;

FIG. 3 is a larger scale view of drill pipes ready to be passed inthrough hatchways;

FIG. 4 shows the drilling module on a larger scale; and

FIG. 5 shows the drilling rig about to be placed on the seabed, againsta foundation frame to which there has been fitted a BOP.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the drawings, reference number 2 denotes a light surface vessel onthe surface of the sea 5, with hoisting equipment 4 installed. Flexiblepipes and control cables 3 extend between the vessel 2 and a drillingrig 1 placed on the seabed 6.

The main structure of the drilling rig 1 comprises a first cylindricalstructure 10 and a second cylindrical structure 1 a, which is concentricto the first cylindrical structure 10, where a number of cylindricalsilos 8 are arranged to encircle the first cylindrical structure 10, forpassing drill pipe magazines 23 in through hatchways 12 in the upperportions of the silos 8.

The lower portion of the second cylindrical structure 1 a is providedwith hydraulic support legs 9 that engage a foundation frame 7.

Around the surface shell of the second cylindrical structure 1 a thereis provided hatchways 13 for servicing and maintaining equipment (notshown) by use of an ROV 36 with gripping devices 18, remote controlledvia a cable 37.

Hatchways 14 are provided by the upper portion of the second cylindricalstructure 1 a, which hatches are used for transfer of mud pumps 32, seeFIG. 5, and other auxiliary equipment.

The drilling rig 1 is provided with a buoyancy element 15 for weightcompensation.

A complete drilling module 17, see FIGS. 2 and 3, may be lowered andraised centrically through hatchways 11 in the upper portion of thefirst cylindrical structure 10.

The drilling module 17 is equipped with all the equipment required fordrilling operations.

In this preferred embodiment the drilling module 17 comprises a mainstructure 18 for which there are provided circular end pieces 30,allowing the entire drilling module to rotate about its longitudinalaxis. Elongated slots 31 are provided in the main structure 18, servingas guides for the drilling machine 19 associated with a drill pipe 27.

The drilling machine 19 is hoisted and lowered by hydraulic cylinders25.

At the top of the piston rod of the cylinder 25 there are pulleys 22. Awire 26 runs across these pulleys 22, so that one end of the wire 26 isattached to the end piece 30 and the other end is attached to thedrilling machine 19. This construction gives a hoisting length, which istwice the length of stroke of the cylinder 25.

The drilling module 17 is provided with a pipe handling robot forhandling drill pipes 27, which robot comprises a vertical column 29attached to the end pieces 30 and gripping and hoisting devices 28, 26that run along the cylindrical column, which devices may be displacedvertically and rotated about the vertical axis of the column in order tohandle drill pipes 27 between the centre of the borehole and storagespaces in the silo 8.

The drill pipe magazines 23 with cylindrical fasteners 24, see FIG. 3,are lowered into the pipe silos 8 through hatchways 12 in the upperportions of the pipe silos 8. The lower part of the second cylindricalstructure 1 a is provided with a cylindrical skirt 34, see FIG. 5, whichengages a complementary cylindrical part 35 on the foundation frame 7,whereby a BOP 33 is enclosed to prevent pollution of the environment

1. A drilling rig placeable on the seabed and arranged for drilling ofoil and gas wells, comprising: a drilling module; at least one drillpipe magazine; and a watertight cylindrical main structure comprisingconcentric cylindrical structures and a plurality of silos for storingdrill pipes, wherein upper portions of the cylindrical structures andthe silos are provided with corresponding sealing hatchways for passingequipment in and out.
 2. The drilling rig in accordance with claim 1,wherein a drilling module comprising a main structure with associatedhoisting cylinders plus a drilling machine and a pipe handling robotequipped with hoisting and gripping devices can be displaced through thehatchway associated with a second main structure.
 3. The drilling rig inaccordance with claim 1, wherein the drilling rig is provided with acylindrical skirt arranged to engage a corresponding cylindricalstructure on the foundation frame.
 4. The drilling rig in accordancewith claim 1, wherein the drilling rig is anchored to a foundation framelocated on the seabed by a plurality of hydraulic legs.